Rural Communities Have ‘Two-Hour Drive’ to Caucus Locations

Idaho is a pretty rural state, but voters in Yellow Pine, Jordan Valley, Lowman and some of the state's smallest communities will not have to drive to vote in the Idaho Republican Party Presidential Caucus on March 2.

In with the Yellow Pine precinct, where Faye Thompson will be the captain of this precinct. Faye is the Republican Central Committee Chairwoman for Valley County.

We checked in with the Yellow Pine precinct, where Faye Thompson will be the captain of this precinct. Faye is the Republican Central Committee Chairwoman for Valley County.

Idaho is a pretty rural state, but voters in Yellow Pine, Jordan Valley, Lowman and some of the state's smallest communities will not have to drive to vote in the Idaho Presidential Caucus on March 2.

"It will be a two-hour drive for me to go up there," said Thompson. "It’s in the backcountry; we are talking snow on the roads, but I’m ready for it. I’ve lived in the mountains all my life, so that’s not a problem for me."

You might know Yellow Pine for its famous Harmonic Festival in August. However, the rest of the year it is a quiet town a long way from anywhere. According to the 2022 Census, Yellow Pine has a population of 327.

"We really want everybody to be there and we will have the doors open for an hour and a half from noon to 1:30," said Thompson. "It is very important."

Dorothy Moon is the chairwoman of the Republican Party in Idaho. Moon and her staff traveled to every county in Idaho last fall to conduct training. The GOP has precincts set up in small towns like Atlanta, Jordan Valley and Lowman so these residents who usually vote absentee don't have to drive hours to vote.

Each precinct will feature five minute speeches from the presidential candidates, they have signs, ballot boxes, ballots and everything ready to go because of the Idaho Republican Party.

"We’ve got all of this mailed out two weeks ago to every one of the caucus captains," said Dorothy Moon. "They have got this stuff, so they don’t have to print it, they don’t have to make their own signs because we gave them the signs, so the smaller communities like Yellow Pine or where I live in Stanley are covered."